Elgin 16sz Hunter, Flawless Engraved case and Fancy Dial, Runs Strong

Description: Beautiful Elgin 16 size Hunter in Near Perfect Case, Fancy Flawless Dial. Running Strong! Condition is Everything! This is a truly fantastic and beautiful watch. It is a 16 size Elgin that runs strong and keeps excellent time. But... it's the components of this watch that makes it so remarkable and unique. Read on....When you buy a pocket watch, you should get at least 6 views. They are.... front (bezel on), front (bezel off), back, inside case-back, stem and movement. I use a macro lens so that buyers can see, for themselves what I am describing. Case: The case is the heart of this beauty. It a gold-filled, full hunter case made by J. Boss of the Keystone Case Company. Both highly respected names. I will spend some time describing this case.The case began life as an expensive gold-filled case. Back then, gold-filled cases often had notations in years. The years described the thickness of the gold in the case. In other words, how many years of normal wear before the gold wore down to brass. This case is a 25 year case meaning that it's at the high, high end of cases for its time. Unfortunately, the price of gold has skyrocketed to all time highs and many hunter cases are being melted for their gold value. Gold-filled cases have a surprisingly high amount of gold. Much more than mere gold-plating. A 25 year case would have about the maximum amount of gold in a gold-filled case. I'm certainly not advocating that someone melt-down this beautiful case, but... today, thousands of hunter cases ARE being scraped or have already been scrapped. This case shows almost no wear. Everything is sharp and it's hard to find that it was ever in use. Both sides are engraved with floral and “cabin” scenes. The front cover has a small medallion (for initials) which is blank. I see no hint of brassing on the case itself. Both covers are engraved on their edges with coining around the scenes. Again... no visible wear. The cuvette does show some “table-scratch” but nothing major. No dings. The covers snap closed and are tight. The opening spring is strong. (The usual admonitions about carefully opening and closing hunter cases applies.) All hinges appear perfect. The crown is sharp, making winding easy and the bow is tight. There might some some minor chair-wear on the underside of the chain and on the crown I do NOT see any extra case-screw marks on this case, meaning that it MAY be original to this movement. I'm going to violate one of my rules and NOT remove the bezel. Hunter cases have egg-shell thin crystals because the cover protects them. They can be difficult to replace. So... I have decided not to risk breaking a crystal to remove the bezel. Since the watch is pendant set, there should be no reason to remove the bezel unless for repair. Crystal: This crystal appears original and is glass. Bright and clear with no scratches Dial: The dial is another amazing feature of this watch, right after the case. The dial is a fancy one with Roman numerals and elegant “chain” around the numbers. These fancy dials were often made of glass instead of the sturdier porcelain used in “working” watches. Because of their composition, they often cracked (which can be quite obvious on a glass dial) . Finding a perfect glass dial is sometimes difficult. This dial IS perfect and I see no cracks Hands: The hands are very fancy with cut-outs at the points. They are blue and show no sign of wear or rust. Movement: The movement is a nice, nickel-plated 15 Jewel movement. Hunter watches were for businessmen... especially prosperous businessmen. For the city. City watches did not need to be “to-the-second” accurate like railroad watches. A train was often in the prairie or wilderness and the only timepiece was the conductor's watch. It was life and death. In the city, there were clocks everywhere; a clock in the window of every jewelry shop, church bells, factory whistles... A person could check his watch and reset if necessary.So.... most hunters have 11-15 Jewels. This movement is fancier than most hunters because it is nickel with fancy damaskeening, The damaskeeing is bold without fading. I see no significant scratches on the movement and the plates and winding wheels are free of rust or corrosion The watch is running with strong action and keeping time. I bought this watch in 2005 and it had been previously serviced by a master-watchmaker. Only occasional winding over the years. The oils, now in use, are synthetic and do not dry and clog like the older organic oils. This watch should run well for a good long period. When I say a watch is running, I mean... running. Nothing could be more disappointing than receiving a watch that does not work. So, I shot a brief video of the movement running and posted it to this listing with eBay’s new video feature. If you have a problem viewing it, message me and I’ll provide a YouTube link. I will ship this watch, USPS, Priority Mail, small-box for $6.00. If the buyer wishes, Insurance extra. CONUS ONLY (USA), please. Note: For those who have been watching my listings, it should be obvious that I am a former watch-maker (hobby) who is now selling his personal collection. I am 77 and I want my watches to be treasured in collections as I have. Each watch, more than likely has some special feature which attracted me when I acquired it for my personal collection.

Price: 650 USD

Location: Flagstaff, Arizona

End Time: 2024-09-16T03:43:34.000Z

Shipping Cost: 6 USD